Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels: Bookmarked

“The author’s conversational tone and frequent references to episodes in her own life—illuminated by her reading of Lenu and Lila’s odyssey—create an approachable, informed literary” —Kirkus

“Frangello brilliantly finds the personal and the political in her intimate, exciting exploration of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, focusing in on female friendship, culture, desire and longing—and the polarizing question of who and what gender Ferrante really was and who really did the authorship. But more than that, Frangello gets at the bone and heart of why we read, what we expect reading to do for us, and how we interpret a book, a life– be it fictional or real– and our own writing, too. The extraordinary thing about this book is not only did it make me immediately want to reread Ferrante, it made me immediately want to reread Frangello, too. This is required reading for any author or reader, truly.”—Caroline Leavitt 

“Gina Frangello’s engagement with the Neapolitan novels deliciously blends personal identification with appreciation and literary criticism. Her discussion of the question of pseudonymity and authorship is mind blowingly smart in how it examines different points of view while never losing sight of the achievement of the novel—whoever wrote it. This book should be shelved beside the quartet in every store and library; it’s a great addition to the Ferrante reading experience.”—Alice Elliott Dark

What is it about Elena Ferrante’s writing, especially her masterwork Neapolitan Novels, that resonates so deeply with millions of readers, making this Italian author who writes under a pseudonym with absolutely no “platform” an international sensation?

Brilliantly addressing issues such as class struggle, female friendship, women’s autonomy, and literary creation itself, Ferrante’s hyperrealist, intense storytelling is a saga of a highly specific place and history, yet somehow also transcends them, resonating on profoundly personal levels with readers of every background.

Gina Frangello grew up in poverty in inner-city Chicago two decades after Ferrante’s most famous characters, Lenu and Lila grew up in Naples. Despite these geographic and cultural differences, Frangello felt that Ferrante was “writing about my youth, my life, my relationships, my struggles.” 

In the latest volume in the Bookmarked series, Gina Frangello contemplates Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels through the lens of memoir, literary criticism, and issues of authorial identity and gender. Should who Ferrante “is” matter? And more importantly, what is it about Lenu and Lila’s story that taps into such universal truths that makes readers feel that Ferrante is writing specifically to them? 

Gina Frangello’s memoir, Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason was selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and BookPage, and was included on numerous “Best of 2021” lists including at Lithub, BookPage and The Chicago Review of Books. Gina is also the author of four books of fiction, including A Life in Men and Every Kind of Wanting. She lives with her family in Chicago.